Our people

Originally from Manchester, I completed a BA Hons in Social Work and DiPSW at the University of Salford (2002) and later MA Social Anthropology (2006) and PhD in Social Anthropology (2016) at the University of Manchester. My community and social work career led me from the UK - Mainland Europe - Mexico where I worked in health promotion, substance misuse outreach, HIV and sexual health education and human rights observation in armed conflict zones. Since re-training as a Social and Medical Anthropologist I have researched closely with midwives, families, migrants and sex workers, trans and gender diverse populations on all kinds of health and relationship matters. 

Outside of the University I sit on the health strategy working group for Trans Actual UK, an organisation set up in 2017 as a response to increasing press hostility, transphobia and misinformation. Trans Actual are run by the trans community, with the trans community, for the trans community. I provide LGBTQ+ centred inclusion and diversity consultancy and training for a broad range of industries. 

I am Associate Professor in Conflict Resolution in the Department of Peace Studies and International Development, and currently Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences. Much of my work - my research, teaching and educational leadership - has learning as a central and connecting theme. For example, individuals, groups and societies who are dealing with conflict and its legacies are fundamentally engaged in learning processes - to understand what caused conflict, to understand others who have become enemies, to understand the impacts that conflict has on self and others, and to find ways to build trust and relationship after conflict. Similarly, communities that are having to adapt to climate change (the focus of more recent research) have to learn about the changes and risks they are facing, about what is possible (or not) in response, and how to make good decisions in conditions of conflict and uncertainty. In both areas, my research has concerned the kinds of processes - including peace education and community engagement - that can support individual and social learning.

Recent work on community engagement and climate adaptation for/with national agencies (Environment Agency, DEFRA, Natural Resources Wales) formed the basis of a successful REF impact case-study. The work contributed new knowledge and practice tools that have been adopted widely in a range of high profile projects, that influenced national policy and continue to generate interest and application. See: Working together to adapt to a changing climate - flood and coast - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

As an educator, I also have strong interest in learning processes/methods and what can support meaningful, lasting changes in understanding in our students. As an educator working in the field of conflict resolution, I'm particularly interested in how we can help to cultivate different kinds of learning - the  knowledge, professional skills, and personal qualities needed for this challenging area of practice. And in my roles as Director of Studies and now Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching, I am interested in supporting the development of effective, interesting and appropriate pedagogic practice in the different parts of the Faculty.

Professor Sankar Sivarajah joined the School of Management at University of Bradford in December 2017 as a Reader in Technology Management and Circular Economy. He is currently the Interim Head of the School of Management and in January 2020 he was successful in receiving the position of Chair in Technology Management and Circular Economy.

Prior to this role, he was a Lecturer in Operations and Information Systems Management and a Senior Research Fellow at the Business School in Brunel University London. His current research interests include exploring the emergent role of digital technologies in the circular economy, information systems evaluation, social innovation and e-Government.

He is an investigator of several multi-million-pound R&D projects funded by the European Commission (FP7, H2020, Marie Curie) addressing societal challenges surrounding themes such as Energy Efficient Smart Cities, Green Data Centres, Social Innovation and Participatory Budgeting. He actively publishes in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Business Research, Information Systems Frontiers, Computers in Human Behaviour and Government Information Quarterly and is also invited member of editorial advisory board of journals.

His research has been featured in leading media/trade publications such as Computer Weekly, PublicFinance, UKauthority etc. He has a PhD in the area of technology evaluation from Brunel University London. Prior to his PhD, he was awarded a MSc in Management with distinction from Cass Business School (CASS), City University of London and a first-class honours BSc degree in Business and Management (Computing) from Brunel University. He was also awarded by CASS an honorary membership to the Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) society, an international honour society recognizing business excellence.

He is a member of British Academy of Management (BAM) and Association for Information Systems (AIS). He is also a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Dr Fiona Cosson joined the University of Bradford as the Head of the School of Social Sciences in November 2023.

Fiona brings a wealth of experience delivering leadership and cultural change within social sciences from her previous institution, Anglia Ruskin University - including experience of delivering against employability, student experience (NSS), programme growth, development and quality assurance. Fiona continues to be research-active in the fields of oral history, memory, heritage, as well as Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences pedagogy and employability.

Nigel is a former Head of Channel Management and Head Of Customer Loyalty for the Financial Services Division of HBOS where he first discovered customer journey mapping. In 2014 he launched Simply Customer Ltd to bring the benefits of journey mapping and customer experience improvement to SMEs.

Having worked with the University on an innovation project, and being an active member of the School of Management’s KTN, Nigel understands not only how the University can help local businesses, but also how local businesses can help the University!

As a Community Fellow, his focus is on bringing local businesses and the University closer together to learn and help each other.

Ruby is a highly successful Solicitor with over 27 years’ experience in the legal field. She has over 25  years ‘ experience both in public and private sectors as a Non-Executive Director and also has various Chair positions in the community. 

As a Faculty Community Fellow she feels she is able to play an important role to inspire, motivate and present opportunities for students and staff to engage with the community which will strengthen and connect the community, the University and the City of Bradford.

Her aspiration is to work in collaboration with both staff and students to promote engagement with different stakeholders within the community. This will give opportunities for students within the faculty to further  their employability and gain invaluable skillsets to become successful and confident in their chosen career paths, whilst engaging in higher education.

Aamnah Rahman works as a Research Fellow (Community Engagement) at the Bradford Institute for Health Research. In one of her previous roles she worked as an Access and Widening Participation Officer at the University of Bradford so strongly connected to understand the needs of the community and positioning this within the university. 

She has many years of experience of working with communities through her roles within the NHS, education, community and voluntary sectors and realises the importance of building rapport and trusting relationships with communities for the long term.  

As a Faculty Community Fellow Aamnah sees her role will avail opportunities for the community, organisations and business, current university staff and students to work more collaboratively to create a 'Community University' which will be a great asset for the city.  She sees this working two ways; the university will benefit by recruiting and harnessing the talents that are out in the community and in return the community will have a well equipped and skilled workforce to meet the demands of the city.  

Dr Mohammed Iqbal is a retired Healthcare Manager who has worked for some of the biggest global pharmaceutical companies over the last 35 years, including Novartis and AstraZeneca and has served as a Non-Executive Director on a variety of NHS organisations in the Bradford District over the last 15 years and is a member of the University of Bradford Council.

Mohammed takes a deep interest in current affairs and follow social, cultural and political developments locally, nationally and internationally very closely and belongs to a dynamic global religious community, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.  He has contributed widely to many of the Community’s innovative projects and initiatives locally and nationally.

As a passionate ‘Bradfordian’ and UK citizen Mohammed is keen to play an active role in addressing the challenges that face the City and the Country. A strong believer in leading by example and that the best route to organisational success is through collaborative working and empowering individuals to excel.  On that note Mohammed feels that the University is one of Bradford’s strongest institutions and plays a key role in giving Bradford recognition and respect on a national and international platform.

As a Community Fellow Mohammed wants to ensure that he can provide all the support and direction to University colleagues which will help the University to meet the many challenges it faces. He is keen to see the University play a leading role in the social and economic regeneration initiatives across Bradford and the Yorkshire Region and deeply committed to building bridges between different cultures and faith groups within the city and across the world, using the expertise within the University to make Bradford a ‘Model City’ for the UK and the world.